Pennsylvania DEP Issues Asbestos Violation Notice

On June 9, the Montgomery County air quality division of the Penn. Department of Environmental Protection issued a notice of asbestos violation to Ronald Hamilton of Hatfield.

Hamilton is one of the members of Ambler Smokestack LLC, a consortium of three firms which own the property located in a brownfield site on South Maple Street. The site was formerly owned by Keasbey and Mattison, and comprises a former asbestos manufacturing facility and a boiler house, which is also contaminated because it was used as an asbestos disposal site, according to a report issued by the Center for Public Environmental Oversight in 2007.

The violation is the result of unauthorized demolition work performed at the Ambler boiler house. The DEP investigated the site on May 29 and discovered workers removing roofing materials from the 15,000-square-foot facility without the property owners having submitted an Asbestos Abatement and Demolition/Renovation Notification Form (AADRN), which is a clear violation of DEP regulations. The notice of violation mandates that property owners immediately suspend any demolition work.

Hamilton says he removed the roof because it presented a safety hazard, having partially collapsed in the winter of 2008-2009. According to Hamilton, he had proceeded with the work based on a permit from Ambler Borough, though not the DEP, and by the time he received the violation notice the roof was already removed.

Ambler Borough Manager Mary Aversa said the borough first became aware of the roof teardown after Hamilton began illegally removing it, and then issued the permit.

According to the DEP's community relations coordinator, Lynda Rebarchak, any demolition of any building requires 10 working days notice to the DEP, allowing the agency to insure that the owner(s) have taken all the necessary steps to remove asbestos from the property in accordance with DEP rules.

At that time, May 29, Hamilton was given until June 18 to submit the required AADRN, which not only ensures compliance on current projects but anticipates future compliance as well. Hamilton responded to the violation notice in a letter dated June 11, assuring DEP officials that he had been made aware of the proper procedures and would follow them in the future.

Rebarchak later confirmed that the permit from Ambler Borough was valid, and agreed that the work performed didn't have a significant impact on the asbestos at the site or the public's health in general. However, municipal governments like Ambler Borough are required to see proof from the owner or contractor that the DEP has been properly notified before issuing demolition permits. Ambler now says the DEP will be required to sign off on any future borough permits before they are issued.

Even with the roof teardown completed, residents are concerned about health risks presented by the current condition of the boiler house. A partial fence does not prevent access to the site, and materials and debris are strewn everywhere, according to Sharon McCormick, a member of the Citizens' Advisory Group and Citizens for a Better Ambler.

Another huge concern for residents is the construction of a trench for a sewer line by Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, or SEPTA, which has already reported the possible presence of asbestos to the DEP and arranged for a licensed contractor to remove the asbestos and surrounding soil.

Rebarchak notes that the DEP only mandates fencing a site if it is deemed an asbestos disposal site. The DEP is currently investigating whether the boiler house has been labeled as such.

Asbestos, a fibrous mineral mined and heavily used in a variety of products until the late 1970's, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and various national health entities began to realize its dangers, is the leading cause of asbestosis, some lung and digestive system cancers, and malignant mesothelioma, a usually lethal cancer of the mesothelial lining of the lungs and abdomen. Most victims diagnosed with mesothelioma are given from a year to 18 months to live, because mesothelioma's long latency (up to 50 years) allows tumors to invade tissue and vital organs extensively.

The Ambler property in question has been abandoned for nearly 40 years, and is currently being renovated by a $4-million grant from the Penn. Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. The owners, Strategic Realty Investments, Summit Realty Advisors and Westrum Development Co., hope to eventually build a 288-unit condominium and 42,500-square-foot office complex on the former brownfield site, but renovation is currently stalled by the recession.

Source: Montgomery County News

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